Urbana City Council Updates

Looking forward to next year's municipal elections, Mayor Marlin will not be running for a 3rd term according to Illinois Public Media. This post, however, is more of a round up about current business before the board and recent news coverage. It's been a while since our last City of Urbana Updates earlier this year.

The Daily Illini has a had a great deal of meeting coverage on what we've missed (agendas, minutes, and video links available here on the city website):

• March 18th City Council Meeting: Coverage of the compromise ceasefire resolution, public comment, and text.
  
  
• March 25th City Council Meeting: Included debates about plastic bags and potential taxes on their use at stores.
  
  
• Tuesday April 9th Cunningham Township Annual Meeting: which included its own referendum, including one on the Gaza conflict.
  
  
• May 27th City Council Meeting: Coverage of the City's financial plan and discussion of the role of social services in it. More on this meeting's dispute on appointments was covered in the News-Gazette and highlighted later in this post below.
  
  
• June 3rd and June 4th Committee of the Whole Meeting. The most recent City Council meeting was a Committee of the Whole meeting that was overwhelmed by public opinion on police hiring and alternative responder model issues. The meeting was continued the next day after it had initially gone on for a few hours. The first day of the meeting made it through item F. 6. (the police staffing presentation) before it was recessed. More coverage on those issues later in this post below.

Redistricting:

As with other local government bodies, the latest Census information has led to a new proposed ward map for the Urbana City Council as well. From Illinois Public Media:

Starting with the spring 2025 municipal elections, the new map will set boundaries for the next decade for the seven wards represented by the seven aldermen and alderwomen on the Urbana City Council...

The Census lowered Urbana’s population count from 41,250 in 2010 to 38,336 in the new Census, a population drop of about seven percent. Marlin says the decrease in population translates into a roughly $750,000 decrease in state and federal tax revenues coming to the city every year.

Marlin says the lower census count is not due to an actual decrease in Urbana’s population, but to a pandemic undercount of University of Illinois students. She argues that this is evident in the census data, which shows the greatest population losses in and around the University of Illinois campus. Students dominate the population in that area, and many of them went off campus during the time the census was taken, because it was also the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

That full article here. The City's web page for the ward map details is here.

Police Budgets:

One of the more hotly contested aspects of the budget has to do with the City's long term plans with policing, crisis intervention, and alternative approaches to police calls for certain situations. Previous consulting recommendations focused primarily on more traditional staffing needs for the Urbana Police Department. From Illinois Public Media:

The national consultant hired by the city of Urbana has released its first report evaluating the police department. In this report, BerryDunn, a national consulting firm, recommends hiring more police officers, which would cost the city millions and involve raising taxes. 

According to the report, more than 64% of calls for service don’t involve criminal activity. Those calls, activists argue, don’t need a police response. Instead, many residents want Urbana officials to establish alternative responses for these calls, involving domestic violence experts, social workers and mental health professionals.

That full article is available here. The News-Gazette had additional coverage earlier this month here and a more recent update from last week. Excerpt from that update:

The latest report from a multi-phase review of the city’s public-safety services said the city stands to benefit from developing alternative methods for how its police and fire agencies respond to calls for service.

The “Essential Calls for Service Report” from BerryDunn, a national consulting firm the city hired in 2023, determined that expanding supplements to the Urbana Police Department’s response model — like telephone units, online reporting services and co-response teams — could help free up officers to answer more urgent calls and provide appropriate resources for those in crisis.

The assessment ties into the first phase of BerryDunn’s review, which recommended that Urbana police hire seven sworn officers and six non-sworn community-service responders, a potential 22 percent increase in the agency’s staff levels.

That full article here.

[Update 6/10/2024: The News-Gazette had even more coverage on this issue in today's paper here. It covers last week's City Council meeting and some of the disagreement on the police portion of the budget. Excerpt:

Police department officials presented proposed staffing increases as part of last week’s budget discussions, which started Monday night and continued into the wee hours of Tuesday after the council voted to take a recess due to the late hour.

Boone said he is requesting the following new positions, which are currently included in the city’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025:

• One deputy chief to oversee operations
• One training sergeant
• Three patrol officers
• Two non-sworn community service responders
• One social worker “in support of alternative response models”
• Three community engagement officers]

More Budget Items:

The City of Urbana, unlike the City of Champaign, appears set to absorb the loss of the State grocery sales tax revenue, according to the News-Gazette. The City Council will also be looking at its financial plan, with approval of that plan coming up at their June 24th meeting. Excerpts from the Daily Illini:

According to the proposed budget, investments will be made in public safety and public works, such as 911 services like fire, EMS and police, as well as city infrastructure. Other investments will be used to support the mayor and city council’s strategic goals. 

In addition, the budget proposed a local motor fuel tax rate increase, with all tax revenue to be dedicated to transportation infrastructure improvements.

The budget also proposed investments into research of the connection between the maintenance of housing and community well-being and occasionally crime. Council members also seek to increase funding for nuisance abatement, or the elimination of harmful property conditions.

That full article with a lot more additional information and links here.

Appointment / Reappointment Disputes:

Disputes about appointments continued to plague the Council. People familiar with the Urbana City Council will be very aware of a years long crusade to remove City Manager Carol Mitten from city government by more openly left-wing board members and public commenters. From the News-Gazette Meeting Minutes feature:

Things took a turn for the awkward at this week’s city council meeting after Alderwoman Grace Wilken, as she did in 2022, motioned that Mayor Diane Marlin‘s recommended one-year reappointments be voted on individually and not lumped together.

Chris Evans took it from there, reading from lengthy prepared comments all the reasons he wasn’t supporting the appointments of City Manager Carol Mitten, who was sitting just down the table at the time.

That full article here.

More City of Urbana News:

• Kathy's Mailbag answered a question about ambulance contracts with the City.
  
  
• The News-Gazette had some updates on the fire station projects back in April.
  
  
• Urbana joined other local government bodies in supporting a program to expand flight service out of Willard, according to the Daily Illini back in March.

City of Champaign Updates

Danny Iniguez of District 3 (map) announced his resignation last month, which will create a vacancy on the board. The City Council has 60 days from May 14^th to fill the seat temporarily until the results of the 2025 municipal elections in the Spring. The process was laid out in a staff report here. Interviews for applicants (the application deadline has already passed) will be conducted on this Tuesday, June 11^th. The News-Gazette had an overview of the appointment process and the three applicants yesterday:

One of the two Unit 4 school board members who resigned in frustration in March — and one of the 28 who applied to replace him — are among three applicants for the District 3 vacancy on the Champaign City Council.

The three will be interviewed at Tuesday's study session for the seat vacated by Danny Iniguez, according to the council agenda made public on Friday.

It's a short-term assignment that expires on May 6, 2025.

That full article here. A final vote on the appointment to the City Council would be as soon as the following week, with the selected appointee sworn in immediately afterward. There is a separate Unit 4 Updates Cheat Sheet post here.

Recent Meetings Coverage:

The Daily Illini had coverage of the most recent City Council meeting on June 4th this week. Excerpt:

On Tuesday, the Champaign City Council held its weekly discussion, primarily focused on passing a number of resolutions related to infrastructure improvement. 

The meeting began with the introduction of three new members of the city staff. 

Following this, a proclamation was made by the council on the topic of raising awareness of state-wide and national gun violence. 

More at the full article here. The Daily Illini also had coverage of the May 28th meeting here, which included updates on the Garden Hills drainage project.

Grocery Sales Tax:

The City of Champaign, like many local governments, is looking at a way to deal with the loss of grocery tax revenue with the latest changes in the State budget. The News-Gazette laid out the problem and the City Council's dilemma earlier last month:

As the budgeting process continues, Champaign city leaders are divided on how to make up $2.7 million in revenue that will be lost if Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal to eliminate the state’s 1 percent grocery tax moves forward.

While some city council members feel the best approach is to raise the home-rule sales tax, others are interested in alternative options, such as establishing a packaged liquor tax...

Proceeds from the grocery tax go entirely to local municipalities, and the question of how to fill in the gap was the focal point of Tuesday’s budget discussion.

That full article here. The News-Gazette had a more recent update showing that the council was "leaning towards" increasing its own grocery sales tax rate at their May 21st Study Session on the budget (the staff report from that Study Session is available here).

Downtown Plaza and Downtown Entertainment District Updates:

Most of the other policy news coverage this month involved development of the downtown Plaza and the downtown entertainment district centered on Market Street. The News-Gazette had coverage of some of the State grant funding being used for the Plaza project. The News-Gazette also highlighted local concerns about the Plaza project's impact on businesses in that area.

The Daily Illini had coverage of the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Downtown Entertainment District here. There was also News-Gazette coverage on the recent City Council vote to increase security for the downtown entertainment district and the context of the recent highly publicized shooting on Market Street. Similarly there were also local business concerns about the downtown entertainment district's impact. WCIA had a brief overview of "The Beat" initiative to highlight and attract entertainment and customers to the downtown entertainment district. More at The Beat website here.

Other City of Champaign News:

• A portion of Park Street was ddesignated in honor of Reverend Claude Shelby, community organizer and retired long-time pastor of the historically Black Salem Church.
  
  
• The City allotted additional funding to 40 North to expand its Friday Night Live entertainment project according to the News-Gazette. 
  
  
• The City's Plan Commission is looking at updating the land use rules for large solar arrays. Currently such installations require a special use permit be approved each time.
  
  
• The Plan Commission was also looking at approving a possible large scale data center at the University's Research Park, according to the News-Gazette.
  
  
• The City launched an interactive tool to compare historic maps of Champaign from the 1880s to 2024, according to WCIA.

Champaign Council and Bradley Bridge Update

First the Bridge:

Following up on a recent post here: The Champaign City Council approved the Bradley bridge project last night. Older News-Gazette coverage of the local dispute over whether to do the Kirby bridge or the Bradley bridge first here. From today's News-Gazette:

Green light for bridge project
The Champaign City Council has approved replacing the Bradley Avenue bridge across Interstate 57 to make it safer for travelers, especially pedestrians and cyclists.

The Illinois Department of Transportation will replace the bridge as well as renovate its approaches and improve the surrounding area. The project, which will cost the city $619,395 received unanimous council approval and two resident statements of support Tuesday night.

Construction is slated to begin in 2019, when the two lane bridge will turn 56 years old. Two 11-foot traffic lanes will be created, according to a city staff report, in addition to a 6-foot bike lane and 6-foot sidewalk on each side...

 In the past couple of years, some neighborhood groups have urged the city council to negotiate with IDOT to prioritize or move up Kirby bridge renovations — slated for 2023.

But Sokolowski said IDOT won’t budge after evaluating both bridges and determining that the Bradley work is more urgent.

In the meantime, the city lowered the Kirby Avenue bridge speed limit to 35 miles per hour and added flashing lights for pedestrians and cyclists.

Meeting Notes:

The City Council Meeting itself (agenda here) was fairly brief (~15minutes) even with a few minute delay as the Township meeting finished up closer to 7:05pm. The City Council members are the same as the Township Board so it began immediately afterward.

The City Manager introduced Kelly Foster as a new Champaign Police Department Administrative Assistant who will be working for the Chief's office.

Previous minutes were approved. There was no correspondence and no public hearings. All four Council Bills passed 8-0 with a roll call. The Bradly bridge bills (027 and 028) were the only ones that received public comment, but no council comment.

Jim Simmons spoke in support of the bills. He explained the overpass was dangerous to pedestrian and bike traffic, but also vehicular traffic. It needs repair and expansion sooner rather than later. A suggestion that this summer would be nice got a chuckle.

Tim Speelong(?) argued that the Bradley bridge renovations were more badly needed than the Kirby bridge. He had an anecdote about his 12 year old fearing having to go back over the bridge to get home and the realization that the only other path home would go over an equally unsafe bridge further away.

During Audience Participation for general issues a supporter of the Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO) strike and attempted to dispel a half-truth about a restriction on new programs. He noted that the context was to ensure that changes didn't undo contracts and other protections for student employees. He pointed out that his tuition waiver is protected, but it wouldn't be for new students. He's doing this not for himself but for them. This is to support the community and those who come next.

There were no additional Council or City Manager comments. Vouchers and payroll both passed with a voice vote (all yays, no nays).

They adjourned at 7:21pm.

Attend a Meeting - Champaign HRC

To jump directly to the Champaign Human Relations Commission meeting notes click here.

In Champaign the City Council, and in this case the Human Relations Commission, meet at the City Building in the City Council Chambers (from google maps and city videos screen grab):

It's generally street parking at 75 cents an hour, so bring quarters or face the annoying meter website on your phone.

The City Council Chambers entrance is to the left as soon as you enter the Chester St. Entrance. Along the outside wall is a display with informational pamphlets including the protocols for public participation: "How to Address the Council." The door warns of the usual rules about no food or drink and to turn off your cell phones.

Once inside, the back table will typically have an agenda and any other materials for the audience. The projector screen for Power Point presentations is on the right side wall.

Today's meeting is a Human Relations Commission meeting: "The Human Relations Commission is responsible for the promotion of equal rights and opportunities in the City.  It is responsible for the enforcement of the City’s Human Rights Ordinance and serves as the hearing board for complaints of violation of the Ordinance that cannot be conciliated by staff.  The Commission also advises the City Council on human rights and equal opportunity issues."


Champaign Human Relations Commission Meeting: March 5th, 2018 at 5:30pm (video link)

The Meeting started promptly at 5:30pm. In attendance: Chair Young, Vice Chair Elmore, and Commissioners Bressner, Felty, and Greene, and two staff members. Absent were Commissioners C. Comer, W. Comer, Midden, and Secretary Turner.

Previous minutes were accepted and there was a report of one open discrimination case involving employment and no open cases involving policing.

There was an announcement that the Community Relations Office had buttons and other materials for March being women's history month available to the public. There was an additional announcement for the disABILITY Resource Expo on April 7th, 2018.

No Audience Participation.


Guest Speaker: Holly Wilper, President of the Champaign County League of Women Voters (LWVCC)

She covered some of the basic history of the League nationally and locally. She then discussed some of their projects such as mock elections for students with the assistance of the County Clerk and voting machines. Also candidate forums for candidates to address the issues and not each other. They already had forums for the primary (video available on their website and from the county Cheat Sheet) and will probably have forums for the general election in September or October.

She also talked about the Observer Corps project where members observe local government bodies and report back to the rest of the group about them, including how open and accessible they are. There was a court observer project that sounds like it is going through some leadership changes. They're updating a news literacy project from years ago and adapting it for the current "fake news" phenomenon to help people sort through the nonsense with a skeptical eye.

She described topical study groups on various political issues such as gun policies and immigration. She described pillars of their work being Human Resources (such as encouraging Human Relations Commissions), Natural Resources (environment and more), Local Government, and the Judicial System. The last two she described their efforts to make sure they're accessible, working for everyone, and working efficiently.

She made a point to note that the local League is for all of Champaign County, not just the City of Champaign.  If groups want to work with the league they can bring their non-partisan efforts to their attention, help with study topics and share information. Individuals can volunteer. They encourage engagement with local government, respectful discourse, and above all: voting.

Q & A:

Q. Felty: asked if their was as comporable organization for men.
A. The LWV has male members too.

Q2. Asked if they were aware of the 5th and Hill environmental issues.
A. They're aware, but Barb Specter (?) is the person to talk to.

Q3/A: They talked about communicating further about a potential redlining issue with home loan access shunting people to Decatur or Rantoul by limiting access to loans in Champaign.

Q. Greene: noted her participation in the mock elections and a now newly registered voter. Asked about bringing registration to high schools.
A. Due to the strict registration age limits in Illinois it's messy. Apparently some states allow younger future voters to at least register for the future.

Q. Elmore: How is the Champaign HRC doing, given that they observe and try to improve such commissions.
A. She noted that it was good that it was active. Some HRCs exist to just check off a box so cities can say they have one and look like they're doing something. Some HRCs bicker as opposed to Champaign's which appears to believe in the mission.

Q2. Are their LWV City Council observers?
A. Yes, for both Champaign and Urbana. There are roughly 12-14 government bodies and they have observers in nearly all, but not all.

Q. Chair Young: Membership information and how to join?
A. She explained the dues. They have 89 dues paying members who not only participate but also have voting rights. They're trying to improve their diversity. A discussion ensued about recruitment and outreach opportunities to help with diversity.

Q. Felty again: brought up their recommendation (also a Racial Justice Task Force recommendation — Felty was on the task force) to end the housing discrimination exemption for convicted felons for 5 years in Champaign.
A. It could be part of the League's criminal justice portfolio. Asked for a write up with a description for their members. Could write letters to the editor and other actions. That is "right up our wheel house."

Guest Speaker thanked for her time.


Back to Agenda:

Committee Reports: there was going to be an update on a video by Comer (which?) but absent. There was nothing in old or new business and no further audience participation.

Comments: Greene noted Centennial High School was having an after school event open to the public on March 14th at 3:45pm at the school track on gun violence. There are going to be guest speakers on the issue.

Felty gave an update on the Mennonite screening of the "Racial Taboo" film that 150 local residents attended and split into 14 discussion groups afterward to consider. Next Sunday at 4:30pm there will be followup discussions also at the Mennonite church.

Adjourned at 6:04pm

City Council Meeting 2/20

[UPDATE: The News-Gazette had an article about the Fire Chief's presentation on the Ambulance integration here:

City council members gave initial approval to further integrating the fire department and local ambulance services Tuesday after fire Chief Gary Ludwig proposed changes to the city's 1988 ambulance ordinance, last updated in 2002.

Ludwig, who claimed his department arrived at 911 call scenes a few minutes before ambulances more than 97 percent of the time in 2017, said he envisions having a clearly established chain of command for 911-call response.

"We sometimes pump more oxygen than we do water," Ludwig said, noting how medical calls have become a substantial firefighter task...]

Original Write-up:

I caught the meeting on the live stream (available along with previous videos here). The agenda is available here. The following is just a brief summary write-up (minutes available here when uploaded):

Two new officers for the Champaign Police Department were sworn in and the Central Boy's Golf Team was recognized for their achievements. Correspondence from OSF health care was entered into the record. No public hearings (not the same as audience participation).

The agenda items 021 through 025 were all passed unanimously. There were only two brief pauses as they were passed 8-0 with roll call votes. On 023 the mayor asked if there was any public input, and none volunteered. On 024 Councilwoman Beck had quick question on the details (due to small font) that was answered and satisfied quickly.

Audience participation was announced with no takers. City Council had no immediate comments. The City Manager had a comment pointing out a staff member had received a lifetime achievement award.

Bruno continued on the agenda XII and XIII to approve the vouchers and payroll and adjourn to a post council study session.

The study session included a presentation by the Fire Chief about the Ambulance Ordinance and an amendment to better integrate the fire department with the two local ambulance services. See the video link to watch the presentation here when the video is uploaded.

The mayor asked if there were any questions or comments from the council and there were none. She asked of the audience and Charles "Randy" Hulett, Vice President, Ancillary and Support for OSF Medical Center (Heart of Mary) responded. He pointed out his statement mirrored the submitted letter to the council. He asked for a 30 day review to consider the impact the amendment would have on the community. He stated there was an issue with not being able to properly review the changes the last time changes were made. He indicated there were discrepancies between the draft version he had worked with and what was being proposed now. If I understood him the version at issue for this meeting was not "accurate to the draft" and contradicted Illinois' EMS Acts.

There was no further audience or council comment. The mayor asked the chief a question about coverage for the cost of ambulance services and he explained that the ambulance services recover payment from insurance when applicable or from the patient if their plan doesn't cover the services in a particular situation. The city itself does not charge the ambulance services due to legalities. The direction passed a voice vote and appeared (I could be mistaken) to move to a future city council vote/motion (as opposed to in a study session).

Once again the audience was asked if anyone wanted to address the council with no takers. They adjourned to a closed session which was the last of the public meeting (adjourned for the night whenever that ended).